Coral Bark Japanese Maples when stripped of their leaves blaze into a riot of red during the winter months and provide a flashy contrast to their dormant neighbors. This color, I am told, intensifies as the temperature drops, and since these two trees are new to my yard, it will be my first winter to verify if this rumor is true or not.
A longtime dream has finally come true. Thank you Michael Parkey and Hadden Landscaping for the best looking backyard ever! Today the copper path lights are being installed, so you will not see them in this post’s photos. Don’t worry, I will be doing a photoshoot of them sometime in the near future. Except for the front gates, everything has been completed and is now ready for drive by viewings, and don’t be surprised if you spy me on my back screen porch sipping a cocktail and enjoying the view.
Note: You can click on each photo for a much larger version.
Expect the big reveal of my newly landscaped backyard. Above is a detail view of the shade portion of the backyard. The scraggly shrub-like tree you see in the lower right corner is actually one of two Coral Bark Japanese Maples. After they have had a chance to stabilize and mature, we will prune them into prettier shapes. This past summer has been cruel to all plants, and quite a few of them will be less than stunning in tomorrow’s big reveal. Although I’ve already noticed a lot of improvement since their planting two weeks ago, for the next six months, most of the improvements will not be above the ground. It’s the root systems that will be developing — the infrastructure — and a year from now there will be plenty of bodacious Kodak moments. So until tomorrow, let’s maintain loose posture.